Skin (2008)
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 62
Fresh: 53 | Rotten: 9
Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill, and Alice Krige do wonderful work in Skin, delivering performances whose strength is underlined by the incredible real-life events upon which the movie is based.
Average Rating: 6.6/10
Critic Reviews: 21
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 5
Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill, and Alice Krige do wonderful work in Skin, delivering performances whose strength is underlined by the incredible real-life events upon which the movie is based.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
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Movie Info
A dark-skinned girl born to white South African parents attempts to explore her identity in the era of apartheid as her government, her parents, and society as a whole struggle with what it means to be a black child of Caucasian descent in a nation deeply divided by race. The year is 1955. Sandra Laing (Sophie Okonedo) has just been born to a pair of white Afrikaner parents, her brown skin and curly hair the surprising result of genetic throwback. As the government's rigid apartheid system
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Cast
-
Sophie Okonedo
Sandra Laing -
Sam Neill
Abraham Laing -
Alice Krige
Sannie Laing -
Tony Kgoroge
Petrus Zwane -
Hannes Brummer
Leon Laing -
Ella Ramangwane
Young Sandra -
Danny Keogh
Van Tonder -
Ruaan Bok
Henry Laing (age 10) -
Bongani Masondo
Henry Laing (age 20) -
Kate-Lyn Von Meyer
Elsie Laing (age 9) -
Terri Ann Eckstein
Elsie Laing (age 19) -
Jonathan Pienaar
Van Niekirk -
Ben Botha
Dawie -
Morne Visser
Dr. Sparks -
Burger Nortje
Kobus -
Gordon van Rooyen
Judge Galgut -
Tumi Morake
Thembi -
Zamanthebe Sithebe
Young Thembi -
Faniswa Yisa
Nora Molefe -
Nomhle Nkonyeni
Jenny Zwane -
Simon Mdakhi
Joseph -
Cobus Venter
Johann -
Leana Tryttsman
Annie -
Anna-Mart van der Merwe
Anna Roux -
Karien Van Der Merwe
Nurse Beukes -
Kaylim Willet
Adriaan Laing -
Onida Cowan
Miss Van Uys -
Lauren Das Neves
Elize -
Gladys Mahlangu
Sangoma -
Nicole Holme
Miss Ludik -
Zoea Alberts
Girl in Classroom -
Duane Saayman
Boy in Classroom -
Thami Baleka
Factory Worker 1 -
Valesica Smith
Factory Worker 2 -
Graeme Bloch
Bailiff
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All Critics (65) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (54) | Rotten (9) | DVD (1)
Laing's life, despite its inherent melodrama, does not automatically lend itself to the screen. And without the aid of a smart script or a prevailing sense of delicacy, a movie about her or apartheid risks being a blunt instrument.
Top CriticProvocative.
Potent, still relevant and inspiring while maddening, Skin shows some of our best and much of our worst.
Every emotion is underscored with sugary music, every narrative plot progression telegraphed with the mechanical structural stiffness of a made-for-TV movie.
It feels hurried, looks cheap, and works overtime to simplify a complex, flawed character into a noble, tragic heroine. The film speaks fluent cliché.
This great film by Anthony Fabian tells this story through the eyes of a happy girl who grows into an outsider.
Intense family drama about race, identity during apartheid.
A frightening primer on how untreated racism can lead someone to abandon, even hate their own offspring.
The most remarkable elements of the true story of Sandra Laing survive intact, despite a rather unremarkable bigscreen retelling of her life.
While it's important we never forget the horrendous evils of humanities past, Skin is sadly one social studies class too many.
Something akin to a Sunday afternoon TV movie of the week.
The storytelling maybe undistinguished but the performances power it.
Performances are impeccable, and location shooting in South Africa adds to the power of an impressive true story.
While conventionally told, this thought-provoking film features deeply moving performances and compels audiences to consider the issues it raises.
An extraordinary story, one that only real life could invent... You won't forget this film in a hurry
A haunting film that tells its unforgettable tale about a coloured girl, born to white parents in South Africa, with simplicity and heartfelt sentiment
Based on a true story, Skin follows the life of a black-skinned girl born to white Afrikaners in a society where segregation is stronger than family.
From an increasingly vibrant cinema about South Africa.
Once the absurdity of the situation has been accepted, the film plays out like a made for television docu drama, with Sandra constantly challenged and overcoming...
Great performances and a smart decision to avoid melodrama make Skin worth seeing but it's the small things that hold it back from being truly great.
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October 29, 2009:
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Foreign Titles
- Skin (2009) (DE)
- Skin (2009) (CA)
